M A.

Open Road Bicycle Shop

The owner, Steve Lubanski, is very knowledgeable and obviously passionate about the sport of cycling. He seems incredibly busy but definitely takes time out to explain things.

I was involved in a dispute regarding a bicycle and the arbitrator required me to get a professional opinion on the condition of the bicycle. Steve wrote up an evaluation with no charge and spent some time going over what was wrong with the bicycle and his honest opinion of the damage.

Bay Leaf Restaurant

I was quite impressed with Bay Leaf. The decor was nice, the staff was friendly, and the food was amazing. The hot and sour soup was very good, but the main dish I ordered (a special sort of white Yam dish) was incredible.

The chef sauteed the vegetables in a very light glaze, and the vegetables were sliced and cooked perfectly to get that crisp-tender texture of lightly cooked fresh vegetables.

The vegetables were served with a wild rice. Everything tasted very healthy but at the same time was very savory and satisfying.

I ordered a carrot cake and it was pretty good, but smothered in frosting.

I'd definitely recommend the vegetable plates when coming here, they are sure to please if you appreciate the lighter cooking of SE Asia.

PROS: Excellent fresh vegetables
CONS:

Home Depot

This may rank as one of the friendiest Home Depots I've been to. There always seems to be someone around to help, and often I keep running into the same person and they continue to help me. One guy helped me get an entire toolset.

PROS: friendly
CONS: It is a Home Depot

Pilot Travel Ctr

This is yet another great Pilot Travel Center along the I-5. They are all quite consistent in quality - clean pumps, large well-lit gas stations, a couple of attached restaurants, and clean bathrooms. Highly recommended when you are driving up the I-5

PROS: Clean, well-lit, clean bathrooms
CONS:

Pilot Travel Center

This is an amazing place to stop when you're driving up the I-5 - a huge gas station/convenience store that is large, clean, and best of all: it has really clean bathrooms.

There is usually a restaurant or two attached - I think this one had a Taco Bell and a Carl's.

It feels more like a neighborhood shopping center rather than a pit stop on the freeway.

The other Pilot Travel Centers I've been to are similar.

PROS: Big, clean bathrooms
CONS:

Floor Store

Overall, these guys were quite unsatisfactory. I actually have to think through all the things The Floor Store did wrong, as they were numerous.

(1) They took almost a week to get out and give me an estimate. I was in quite a hurry, so this was inconvenient.

(2) The guy who came out to take measurements used my bathroom while he was at it. This is fine, but it would have been nice if he asked. (This is the golden rule of contractors.)

(3) Once measurements were taken, it took a couple of days to get back to me with a quote. Again, I was in a hurry and this set me back. I wonder if they introduced delay into the process to limit my options.

(4) I was buying a large amount of carpet and a bit of vinyl flooring for the foyer. For some reason, there was a $140 "minimum additional charge" for vinyl. I thought this was odd, since they were already going to be out here doing the carpet, and it would be trivial to do the vinyl once they did the carpet. The guy on the phone said they had to "completely retool" to do vinyl. I don't believe it. At least they knocked it down to $125, but it should have been maybe $10. I felt ripped off, but again I was in a hurry.

(5) They priced their carpet by the # of sq. yd. of carpet needed, but they also priced disposal of the carpet by the same # of sq. yd., even though it was much smaller since you don't need all the "extra" for disposal. The guy on the phone said it was "industry standard". Okay, maybe I can buy this, but it is still bogus.

(6) On the plus side, they were able to get their subcontractors out quickly - by the next day. On the minus side, the subcontractor installers were horrible. When the installers finished, they didn't tell me they were done, and they left all kinds of junk behind: cigarette butts, nicotine gum (?), a crowbar, nails and staples all over the carpet, fast food wrappers, some sort of cement foil seal (with cement) on the kitchen counter, coffee cups, etc.

(7) They also left all kinds of carpet bits on the carpet. When I talked to The Floor Store about this, the guy said that they didn't offer clean up services, and it was extra, and sorry he didn't mention it before. Thanks a lot!

(8) They left some sort of sharp bits sticking up beneath the carpet near the boundary with the vinyl. I had to hammer them down.

(9) The price seemed a bit high to me, but it was the least of my concerns after all this.

PROS: Their office is in a cool part of town
CONS: They are the worst

Environmental Building Supls

Well the eco-side of me rejoiced when I saw this store - it was full of natural flooring and building supplies, low-VOC paint, and solar goodies.

The anti-yuppie side of me was a bit turned off by the prices - I suppose some of these materials are quite expensive, but I suspect much of it is only accessible to wealther folks.

The store also had a bit of a trendy-minimalist feel to it as well.

I do sincerely appreciate what they are trying to do, though, and I do support spending a bit more for materials that aren't manufactured at Superfund sites.

They hosted a green fair associated with the green homes tour and had tons of good vegetarian food. Kudos to them for doing this.

PROS: Lots of natural building materials
CONS: Prices are high

Fireside Coffee Lodge LLC

Okay the fake "lodge" motif with the logs and pictures of elk are a bit out of place in the middle of the city, but this place is open 24 hours a day and has free wireless internet access.

I went there late on a Saturday night and there were many students there working on their computer. The atmosphere is quiet and the staff is nice.

PROS: Open 24 hours
CONS: Cheesy, not much parking around

papaccino's

This place has a great south-facing window where there are chairs in which you can sit and sun yourself, but these chairs are quite popular so be sure to grab one if you see one.

Seems to be quite kid friendly, in fact there is a child playing with some toys behind me in the "kid area" as we speak.

The wireless internet didn't work too well for me, but that's okay because there was another open wireless network called "zoom" nearby.

PROS: Friendly staff, quiet atmosphere, outlets for computer
CONS: Wireless internet doesn't work

Chez Jose

I just dropped by here to get some quick take out since it was close by, but I ended up really savoring my meal when I finally got around to eating it!

I got a vegetarian tostada, and they gave it to me with chips and salsa + guacamole. The tostada was very delicious, full of fresh vegetables, olives, and many mild jalapeno peppers which gave it a strong jalapeno taste with just a little spice kick. The guacamole was great but it is hard to mess up guacamole. Salsa was good.

The restaurant itself looked pretty nice while I waited for my food, but I didn't get a chance to experience the service. The people seemed pretty nice, though, but that is Portland for you.

PROS: Quite excellent food
CONS: